the unsung heroines of sports history

Phoebe Jane
Fairgrave Omlie (November 21, 1902 - July 17, 1975) was an American
aviation pioneer, particularly noted for her accomplishments as an early
female aviator. Omlie was the first female to receive an airplane
mechanic's license, the first licensed female transport pilot, and the
first female to be appointed to a federal position in the aviation field.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Omlie set several world records in
aviation, including the highest altitude parachute jump by a female. She
was also the first female to cross the Rocky Mountains in a light aircraft,
and was considered by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to be one of
"eleven women whose achievements make it safe to say the world is
progressing. After resigning from the Civil Aeronautics Authority, Omlie
returned to Memphis and purchased a cattle farm in Como, Mississippi.
Omlie's inexperience with operating a cattle farm posed a problem in
running the business, and she traded the farm a few years later for a small
cafe and hotel in Lambert, Mississippi. The hotel business proved to be
just as unsuccessful for Omlie, who returned to Memphis in 1961. Leading up
to the final years before her death, Omlie made little money as a public
speaker. The last few years of Omlie's life were spent in seclusion, living
in a flophouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, fighting lung cancer and
alcoholism. Omlie died on July 17, 1975, and was buried next to her husband
in Forest Hill Cemetery. In June 1982, a new air traffic control tower was
dedicated and named in honor of Phoebe and Vernon Omlie at the Memphis
International Airport. #butchhistory